Men's Crew

Brown Places Three Boats in Top-Five Nationally, Highlighted by Silver Medal in Second Varsity

Jun 05, 2010

Camden, NJ – The Brown men's crew recorded another
terrific performance at the final day of the IRA National
Championship Regatta on Saturday morning, placing four boats in the
top-six in the country in their event, highlighted by a silver
medal in the second varsity eight. Additionally, the varsity
eight, varsity four, and open four each finished in the top six
nationally, while the freshman eight placed eighth overall.

“I thought it was a good regatta this weekend
overall,” said head coach Paul Cooke, a former IRA medalist
as an oarsman for Brown. “The highlights for us were
the second varsity's final and the varsity semi; those were
both terrific performances.”

The second varsity eight turned in the highest finish of the
regatta for Brown, taking second to perennial powerhouse Washington
by just .3 seconds in one of the most thrilling races of the
day. Despite a field of six strong boats, it quickly became
evident that the race would be a dual between Brown and Washington,
as the two crews moved away from the field right from the
beginning.

The Huskies took a strong move just after the 500 mark, and
briefly gained a few seats on Brown. However, the Bears
answered back just a few strokes later, calling a ten of their own
to pull even by 800 meters in. From there, the two boats
rowed nearly stroke for stroke for much of the course, with neither
able to gain a sizable advantage. Bruno appeared to finally
break free with 300 meters to go, pulling out to a two-seat lead,
but the Huskies showed their closing speed, mounting a furious
final sprint to just edge Brown with a time of 5:32.1. The
Bears crossed the line just inches behind in 5:32.4, as both boats
beat the second varsity course record by nearly four seconds.

“The second eight showed great composure in their
race,” said Cooke. “They were very steady
throughout, and showed really good concentration. The guys
accepted Washington's challenge, and turned in a great
performance.”

Brown's varsity eight rowed a solid race as well, though
it appeared that competing in a fourth race in three days,
including an extraordinarily close semi on Friday, may have taken
its toll. The Bears got off to a nice start out of the stake
boats, rowing high in at attempt to gain the early lead, but
Washington and Cal quickly moved away from the pack. The
remaining four boats briefly battled for third, but Cornell and
Harvard were also able to gain some separation, as the six boats
spread out down the course. At the finish line, Cal took a
thrilling comeback win over the Huskies, as the crews rowed 5:23.9
and 5:24.2 respectively. Cornell nabbed the final spot on the
podium, as Brown crossed the line in fifth, rowing 5:40.5 to beat
Syracuse.

“I thought our varsity really battled through this
regatta,” said Cooke. “They had to go through the
reps, then a very tough semi just to get to the grand finals
today. Overall, I am very proud of how they raced. In
the final, we tried to hold our speed with the other crews, but
Washington and Cal went and we weren't able to hold
them.”

In the first event of the day, the open four took the course,
rowing a strong race in a very competitive field. Following
much the same race plan exhibited on Friday in the semis, Cornell
stormed out to a fast start, taking open water on the field by the
1000 meter mark, and leaving the rest of the field to fight for
second place. Brown, Washington, Cal, and Wisconsin mounted a
four-way battle for the remaining two medals, but the Bears were
just edged for a spot on the podium, finishing fourth in
6:24.7. Cornell won the event in 6:16.8, followed by
Wisconsin and Washington in second and third respectively.

The varsity four was the next boat to come down the Cooper
River, also competing in the Grand Finals. Washington and Cal
quickly jumped to the front of the pack, opening up a significant
lead on the rest of the field. Though the Bears hung close to
the pack through the first 1000 meters, they fell off the pace
slightly in the second half, finishing sixth overall with a time of
6:27.5. Washington held on to win the race in 6:17.4, while
Georgetown and Wisconsin came back on Cal to take the other two
medal spots.

In the freshman eight, the Bears turned in another solid
performance, placing second in the petite finals to finish eighth
overall in the country. Boston University took the early
lead, and led from start to finish, taking the win in 5:44.5.
The five remaining boats fought for position down the course,
without much separation emerging from two through six. In the
final 700 meters though, Brown found a nice rhythm, and broke free
from the pack, crossing the line in 5:47.5 to place second in the
final.

Pictured: Brown's National Runner-Up Second Varsity
Eight Battled Washington to the finish line.